Macon–Mercer University Commons, the English Department, the Women’s & Gender Studies Program, and the Wesley Foundation are co-sponsoring The Adrienne Moore Bond Memorial Symposium March 16-17 on the Macon Campus. There is no charge for the event, and it is open to the public. The symposium will feature three of Mercer’s most prominent writers:
David Bottoms: Georgia Poet Laureate; Mercer grad (BA ’71); current Ferrol A. Sams Distinguished Chair in English at Mercer; author of two novels & several volumes of poetry, including the Robert Penn Warren Prize-winning Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump (1979) and most recently Waltzing through the Endtime (2004).
Pattiann Rogers: Former Sams Chair at Mercer; has taught writing on several other college campuses, including the University of Montana (where she was Richard Hugo Distinguished Poet-in-Residence in 1988); winner of several literary prizes, including the Theodore Roethke Prize from Poetry Northwest, and five Pushcart Prizes; author of nine volumes of poetry, including Song of the World Becoming: New and Collected Poems 1981-2001, as well as The Dream of the Marsh Wren: Writing as Reciprocal Creation (1999), a prose exploration of the methods and motivations of her own creativity.
Judson Mitcham: Macon resident, former Chair of Psychology Department, Fort Valley State University, and current adjunct professor of creative writing at Mercer; author of two novels (The Sweet Everlasing and Sabbath Creek) and three volumes of poetry (Somewhere in Ecclesiastes, Notes for a Prayer in June, and This April Day).
Each of the panelists will give a talk on how they view their writing careers as a calling, as well as fielding questions from the audience. Potential topics include the writing process itself and such matters as where the writing comes from. Does the writer produce writing from within or is it given from somewhere else? Another potential topic: how other writers have given them a sense of calling or responsibility as writers.
A panel discussion will be moderated by professor Michael M. Cass of the English Department. A book table will be provided at all sessions for autographing. Questions should be directed to John Dunaway at 301-2897.
Symposium Schedule:
Day One – Wednesday, March 16
Room 251 Stetson Hall
3:00 p.m. Pattiann Rogers reads from her works
3:45 p.m. Break
4:00 p.m. Pattiann Rogers’ Lecture
Centenary United Methodist Church Sanctuary
7:00 p.m. David Bottoms reads from his works
7:45 p.m. Break
8:00 p.m. David Bottoms’ Lecture
Day Two – Thursday, March 17
Room 251 Stetson Hall
3:00 p.m. Judson Mitcham reads from his works
3:45 p.m. Break
4:00 p.m. Judson Mitcham’s Lecture
Centenary United Methodist Church Sanctuary
8:00 p.m. Panel Discussion – Moderator: Prof. Michael Cass
